Circular Shallow Bowl
Object Label
Utilizing traditional hand-coiling techniques, vessel forms, and open-trench firing, Maria Martinez invented a unique style of pottery featuring black-on-black designs (as seen here), which had never been done before.
Martinez began potting to provide income for her family, collaborating with her husband, Julian, and later her son, Popovi Da, as painters. She eventually became world-famous, attracting visits from Japanese masters who wanted to learn her techniques. John D. Rockefeller, Jr., invited her to help with the dedication of New York’s Rockefeller Plaza in 1933.
Caption
Maria Martinez ca. 1887–1980; Julian Martinez 1885–1943. Circular Shallow Bowl, ca. 1943. Clay, slip, height: 2 3/8 in. (6 cm) diameter: 13 1/4 in. (33.7 cm) mount: 13 1/2 × 13 1/2 × 5 1/2 in. (34.3 × 34.3 × 14 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Anonymous gift in memory of Dr. Harlow Brooks, 43.201.198. Creative Commons-BY
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Title
Circular Shallow Bowl
Date
ca. 1943
Geography
Place made: San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico, United States
Medium
Clay, slip
Classification
Dimensions
height: 2 3/8 in. (6 cm) diameter: 13 1/4 in. (33.7 cm) mount: 13 1/2 × 13 1/2 × 5 1/2 in. (34.3 × 34.3 × 14 cm)
Signatures
"Marie and Julian"
Credit Line
Anonymous gift in memory of Dr. Harlow Brooks
Accession Number
43.201.198
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
Frequent Art Questions
How was the black on black design achieved?
The black-on-black pottery design style was invented by Maria Martinez. To achieve the black ceramics, Martinez and her husband would smother the fire with powdered manure, which would remove the oxygen while still firing the piece and adding the black effect.The finished product, like the one you see here, is much less functional than other ceramic types, as the firing process makes it less durable. The black-on-black ceramics were made for the market as art objects.
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